Car-coupling



No Model.)

0. R. HARRIS.

v OAR COUPLING.

No. 350,244. x Patented Oct. 5, 1886.,

mg WITNESSES: e i INVENTOR: .;;j1 615W 7 7 BY Mon/ 1, 2 :2

ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICEe CAR-COUPLING.

LPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 350,244, dated October 5, 1886,

Application filed June 26, 1886. Serial No. 206,308. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, CHARLES RUssELL HAR- ms, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Oar-Coupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Hy invention relates to the construction of a car-coupling that is automatic in its action of eoupling,a1'1d which may be used in connec tion with cars provided with the ordinary form of pin-and-link coupling, an especial form of link being, however, required in such cases.

The invention consists, essentially, of a draw-head or bull-nose provided with a perpendicular instead of a horizontal opening, and ofa spring-actuattd coupling-pin that is arranged to move in a horizontal line and to be released, so as to be thrown to place within the draw-head when the d raw-heads ofthc two cars are forced inward as the cars come to gether; and the invention further consists of an arrangementwhereby the link can be slightly elevated or depressed, in order to properly couple with the coupling of the adjacent car, all as will be hereinafter explained, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a face view of my improved coupling, the pin being shown in its retracted position, its position within the draw-head being, however, indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a a central longitudinal sectional view of the coupling, the normal position of the link being shown in full lines, while the position to which it may be moved by the coupling-pin is indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view representing the pin as in position within the draw-head, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the construction of the link employed when my coupler is used in connection with the commonform of coupling.

In the drawings above referred to, 10 repre 'sents the draw-bar, 11 the draw-head, and 12 the draw-bar spring, all of which parts are of the ordinary form and arranged in the ordinary manner, except that in mounting the greatest width of the recess or opening in the draw-head is placed so as to be in a perpendicular instead of in a horizontal line. To one side of the draw-head there is secured a cylinder, 13, that is formed with a T-shaped slot, 2, and a central opening, 3, said opening being in the extending end of the cylinder. \Vithin the cylinder 13 I mount the handle 16 of the coupling-pin 4, the handle and pin being integral; or they may be made separate and rigidly connected. The handle 16 is formed with a lug, 5, which rides in the slot 2, a second lug, 6, being formed upon the pin 4. A spiral spring, 7, is coiled about the handle 16, one end of the spring abutting against the end of the cylinder 13, while the other end abuts against the lug 5, which is formed upon the handle 16, the action of the spring being to force the pin forward within the draw-head. A bar, 17, that is provided with an upwardly extending arm, 18, is rigidly secured to the frame of the car, the arm 18 closely approaching the peripheral face of the cylinder 13,and extending to a pointjust above the slot 2. lVhen the pin 4 is retracted and the draw-head 11 released from pressure, the cylinder 13 will closely approach or touch the inner face of the arm 18, the lug 5 at this time resting against the outer edge, 9, of the arm 18, as clearly shown in Fig. 1; but as the cars approach,and

the draw bar and head are forced inward against the tension of the spring 12, the cylinder 13 will be carried inward, and the lug 5 will be released from engagement with the arm 18, so that the spring 7 will be free to act to force the pin 4 forward to its position within the draw-head 11.

XVhen it is desired to couple cars of difierent heights, the coupling-link 20 may be raised or lowered to meet the requirements of the case, this movement being accomplished by turning the handle 16, the lug 5 at this time riding in the enlarged portion of the T- shaped slot 2, while the lug 6 is within the opening in the link 20, so that as the handle 16 is turned the link will be moved. upward or downward, in accordance with the direction in which the handle is turned. It will be noticed that the link 20 is of the ordinary form, but in use is arranged so as to rest in a perpendicular instead of a horizontal plane, and when cars provided with my improved form of coupling are to be coupled with cars having the ordinary form of coupling it is necessary to provide such a link as the one illustrated in Fig. l, in which I represent a link wherein the side lengths are twisted so that the two ends of the link are in planes that are at right angles that is, if the end of the link marked 31 isin a vertical plane the end marked 32 will be in a horizontal plane. In practice I prefer to guide and support the handle 16 by means ol'abracket such as the one shown at 25.

It will of course be understood that the use oi'such a coupler as has been described renders it unnecessary to enter the space between the ends of the cars that are being coupled, and consequently the traiirinen are protected against accident resulting from a failure to stop the cars at the proper time.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1.. The combination, with a draw-head, of a coupling-pin, a handle provided with a stop and connected to the pin, a cylinder formed with a longitudinal slot in which the stop on the handle rides, a spring arranged within the cylinder and in connection with the handle and its pin and a fixed stop arranged to be engaged by the stop on the handle snbstair tiall y as described.

2. The combination, with a draw-head, its bar, and the draw-bar spring, of a coupling pin provided with the lug 5, a spiral spring arranged in connection with the pin, and a rigidly-mounted stop, substantially as described.

(1H ARLES ltl ISS E ILL l-lAIltl-tlfii.

Witnesses:

EDWARD linx'r, .Tr., Sane w ion. 

